Now Britain is the fattest country in Europe (and the fifth most overweight in the world)

Britons are the fattest people in Europe, with one of the world’s fastest obesity growth rates, according to a leading international think-tank.

The UK comes top out of 20 European Union nations, with almost one in four people so fat they could face an early grave.

Levels of fatness in Scottish children are second worst in the world, behind the U.S., while children in England are eighth worst.

Overall, in a study of citizens of the 33 richest countries, the UK is fifth behind the U.S., Mexico, Chile and New Zealand.

Unhealthy: Britain is the fattest country in Europe and the fifth most overweight of the world's 33 most-developed nations, according to a study

Developed nations are getting fatter, warns the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development which produced the report.

The Paris-based watchdog claims the growing costs of healthcare and wasted resources are making obesity a top priority for many governments.

Report author Franco Sassi, a former London School of Economics lecturer, puts the blame on modern lifestyles.

He said: ‘Food is much cheaper than in the past, in particular food that is not particularly healthy, and people are changing their lifestyles. They have less time to prepare meals and are eating out more in restaurants.

Worrying trend: OECD graphic shows how dramatically weights have increased across the world, with England rising as fast as America

‘There is a frightening increase in the epidemic. We’ve not reached the plateau yet.’
According to the report, the lifespan of an obese person is up to 10 years shorter than that of a normal-weight person – the same loss of lifespan incurred by smoking.

Dozens of NYC taxi drivers accused of charging double fare

Passengers in New York City's yellow taxis have been cheated by thousands of drivers who manipulated their meters to double the fare rate, officials said.

Published: 12:50AM BST 24 Sep 2010

A New York taxiPhoto: ALAMY

Fifty-nine of the worst alleged offenders were arrested on Wednesday, but officials said the criminal cases represented the tip of the iceberg, and that up to 22,000 drivers were believed to have deployed the fare trick before the city took steps to stop the practice in the spring.

Forty-five of the drivers arrested were charged with felony or scheming to defraud, while misdemeanour petty larceny cases have been lodged against another 14.

Six drivers reeled in more than $10,000 (£6,400) apiece by repeatedly bumping their meters up to a higher suburban rate when they actually were in the city, the Manhattan district attorney's office said.

One driver overcharged more than 5,100 times between November 2008 and June 2010, prosecutors said.

Unsuspecting passengers overpaid an average of about $5, officials said. But they said the overcharges added up to a sprawling scam among the cabs.

The investigation began after a passenger complained to the city about a fare that seemed to go up too fast last July.

The city Taxi & Limousine Commission concluded in May that almost 22,000 cabbies out of the city's roughly 48,000 yellow-cab drivers had improperly charged the double rate, which is supposed to apply only when taxis cross into suburban Westchester or Nassau counties. Passengers were overcharged 286,000 times, for a total of about $1.1 million, the TLC said.

The city's 13,000 taxis are now equipped with warning systems that alert passengers if the higher rate is being charged.

The New York Taxi Workers Alliance, an advocacy group, criticised the criminal cases, derived from data collected through taxi technology that includes GPS systems.

Drivers said some seeming overcharges were actually honest mistakes. Taxi Commissioner David Yassky said in May that cabbies who overcharged once or twice would not be punished.

World Karaoke competition: top prize one million dumplings

The world's top karaoke singers have flown into Russia to battle it out for the world title in the emerging "sport" and the unusual top prize of one million Siberian dumplings.

By Andrew Osborn in Moscow
Published: 5:13PM BST 24 Sep 2010

Tami Marie of the United States performing 'Misery' at the Karaoke Wold Championships in in MoscowPhoto: AP

Contestants from 28 countries, including the UK, have already started to belt out hit songs from the likes of Abba and Queen giving impassioned performances they hope will win the 2010 Karaoke World Championships.

Each country is represented by a male and female contestant and the competition, which started on Thursday, will culminate today (Saturday) when the jury makes its decisions.

The DJ's career enjoyed a revival after he won ITV's I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here reality show in 2002.

Pick of the Pops was first broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in 1955 before switching to Radio 1 and then Radio 2. Previously fronted by Alan Freeman, Winton has presented the show since 2000.

Blackburn, who was the first DJ heard on Radio 1 when it began broadcasting in 1967, described Pick of the Pops as "one of radio's most iconic and famous shows".

Radio 2 head of programmes, Lewis Carnie, said: "I'm delighted to welcome Tony Blackburn to Radio 2 on a permanent basis. He is one of this country's legendary broadcasters and brings a wealth of knowledge of popular music spanning the years.

"I'd like to thank Dale for being such a tremendous host of Pick Of The Pops for the last decade, and I look forward to continuing our relationship with him on future Radio 2 projects."

Blackburn also presents a Sunday soul and Motown show on BBC London 94.9. Smooth Radio is owned by GMG Radio, part of Guardian Media Group, which also publishes MediaGuardian.co.uk.

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So much news today is dull, depressing, controversial. It's almost impossible to watch news without hearing story after story of war, terror, killing, destruction, government, corruption, etc. I come across weird and wonderful news items as I scan the worlds press that put a smile on ones face or distract one from all the doom and gloom. These are the stories that will make up "The Quirky Globe". If you have any reactions to articles please leave a comment.... it may encourage debate. Pass this site on to your friends who are also fed up with mainstream news and become a follower. Enjoy and smile.